Food
Homemade Tomato and Feta Bruschetta Pizza Recipe
Jan
I’ve been an avid meal planner for quite a long time now. I try to eat fairly well and cook all of my meals at home. I’ve been working from home lately, so it’s been easier to have time to cook. Occasionally though, I don’t feel like cooking.
It’s usually a Saturday night and I’ve been working on projects all day, so by the time dinner comes around I have no energy to cook. On one such occasion I decided to order pizza and got a tomato bruschetta pizza.
It was decent, but as soon as I tried it, I knew I would be able to make it better with a few simple tweaks. So I did 🙂
The Perfect Bruschetta
I perfected my bruschetta recipe many moons ago while I was still in high school. It’s a simple combination of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, parsley and feta. The feta isn’t exactly traditional, but it adds a nice salty kick.
I think what makes my bruschetta so good (aside from that tasty feta) is the fact that I let it marinate in the fridge. I like to make this bruschetta mix at least 4 hours ahead of time to let the flavours meld. It makes for a beautifully flavourful mixture ready for any number of things.
I usually put it atop a baguette and bake it with mozzarella. However, once I had the takeout pizza, I knew my mixture would be perfect for this use.
Also worth mentioning is that I think this bruschetta mix would be delicious on top of fresh baked focaccia. You could also serve it as a side to the focaccia as part of a charcuterie platter. So many options!
Tomato and Feta Bruschetta Pizza Ingredients:
Tomatoes:
For this pizza, you’re going to want the ripest tomatoes you can find. If worst comes to worst, buy tomatoes from the grocery store and allow them to ripen for at least a few days before making this pizza. No canned tomatoes for this pizza! In order to get the freshest tomatoes possible, it would be a good idea to make this pizza in the middle of summer when tomatoes are at their peak!
Feta:
Feta is my secret weapon for this pizza! It adds a really nice salty kick as well as a bit of texture. But, make sure that you buy the full fat feta. None of that less fat BS. This is pizza after all! When I made this pizza, I cut the feta up into cubes. However, I think it would look a lot more appealing (less manufactured) if you crumbled the feta into your bruschetta mixture.
Garlic:
I’m sure you’re wondering what I could possibly say about garlic, but hear me out. Garlic can be a very polarizing food. Some people (like me) like it a lot and some people hate it. Others are allergic. So keep in mind your personal garlic preferences when you make this pizza. The garlic does get lightly cooked, but still remains quite flavourful. I beg you though, do not use pre chopped garlic. It just doesn’t taste the same and it won’t be nearly as delicious. I’d also avoid the garlic that comes packaged together in groups of 3. This garlic often isn’t as flavourful, so try to opt for heads of loose garlic when buying!
Mozzarella Cheese:
For this pizza I didn’t use anything fancy – just a block of pizza mozzarella. This type of mozzarella has a lower moisture content so your pizza doesn’t end up coming out too soggy. I’d recommend against using fresh mozzarella for this type of pizza, just because there is already a lot of moisture from the tomatoes. Fresh mozzarella has a lot more water in it so you may end up with a pizza that is way too soggy for your liking. The mozzarella is also key to this pizza because I put it on in 2 separate layers which helps to seal the bruschetta filling in place. On the take out pizza that I got a lot of the topping was falling off, so this was very helpful.
The “Sauce”:
This pizza is already really heavy on the tomatoes from the bruschetta mixture, so I wanted to go a lot lighter with the sauce. The takeout pizza that I got just had olive oil and garlic as the sauce. So, in order to make it better, I did a combination of dried herbs and some olive oil so that it was more like a dipping sauce for bread. It’s similar to the kind that you would find in a restaurant. Plus, it adds a bit of herbyness and a slight bit of heat from crushed red pepper flakes.
The Dough:
For this pizza, I chose a blend of regular and whole wheat flour to give the dough a little bit more substance. This is a great basic pizza dough and the recipe makes two doughs so you can freeze one for later. This pizza would also be amazing with a more Neapolitan style dough that had a very thin crust. If you have a pizza dough that you love using, I would recommend sticking to that, but know that the one I liked above is a good starting point!
So, now that we’ve discussed all the ingredients it’s time to get making some pizza!
Homemade Tomato and Feta Bruschetta Pizza
Ingredients
Bruschetta Mix:
- 3 medium very ripe tomatoes diced with the seeds removed
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh or frozen parsley minced
- 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
- salt & pepper to taste
Herb Mixture (Sauce):
- 2 tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Pizza Assembly:
- 1 recipe of your favourite pizza dough
- 1/3 block low moisture mozzarella cheese grated
Instructions
- Mix all bruschetta ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Ideally for 4 hours, but you can use right away if necessary.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit.
- Combine all ingredients for herb mixture in a small bowl and set aside.
- Roll out pizza dough until it is the size of your pan and then transfer onto the pan. I like to make my dough a little larger than the pan so that I can tuck the edges under to form a crust.
- Pour the herb mixture over the dough and spread evenly. Make sure to spread up onto the crush so that it will bake up nice and golden.
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the herb mixture.
- Next add 2/3 of the bruschetta mix.
- Top with the remaining 2/3 of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the pizza for 20-22 minutes, or until the crust has started to turn golden.
- Once baked, sprinkle the remaining bruschetta mix on the pizza and use a wooden spoon to lightly press it into the hot cheese.
- Slice, serve and enjoy your delicious fresh bruschetta pizza!
Tomato and Feta Bruschetta Pizza Recipe Results:
I was super happy with how my pizza came out! It was definitely a lot better than the take out version. It had way more flavour than the take out version – probably because of the herb mixture and of course the feta!
I also fixed the problem of the bruschetta mixture falling off the pizza by layering the bruschetta mixture and the cheese. So, I highly recommend you don’t skip that step. It’s so disappointing to have the bruschetta mixture fall onto your plate – or worse – your lap!
The pizza that I made also had more of the mozzarella cheese melted on the crust. I like doing this because then the cheese gets crispy and is a nice complement to the doughy crust.
If you wanted to take this pizza up a notch, you could also add some fresh grated parmesan cheese. As soon as the pizza comes out of the oven, grate some fresh parm over the top! 
To Dip or Not to Dip:
I’m a big fan of having dipping sauce for my pizza, but I also prefer it to be homemade. My friends and I usually dip our pizza in a homemade ranch dipping sauce which is super tasty! Essentially you combine 2 parts sour cream with one part mayo and then add lemon juice, garlic and onion powder and chopped chives or green onions. Mix it all up and you’re ready to dip your crust in some delicious tangy ranch!
Overall, I think this pizza is a great easy meal to have on a friday night in the summer. Pair it with a crisp glass of rose and you’ve got the perfect evening laid out.
If you find that you have a ton of tomatoes to use mid July, try making a jar of this delicious roasted tomato sauce!
Plus, if you make this pizza make sure to let us know in the comments!
XOXO, Tess
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